1. Increasing Academic Productivity
A Quick lesson On Academic Self-Regulation
By Philip Lantz
Kortchack Center for Learning and Creativity
University of Southern California
Hello everyone and thank you for checking out this video on how to increase your academic productivity.
My name is Philip and I am an academic coach from the Kortshak Center on USC’s campus, located in the Student Union room 311.
This short presentation will be useful for anyone who feels like they might be stuck when it comes to studying strategies. Students work so hard and for so many hours to try and do well in their classes. The strategies and ideas in this presentation are ways to make your precious time as a student, more productive. By mastering Academic Self Regulation, you will become a more efficient, lifelong learner.

2. Learning Outcomes
Identify the 6 components of academic self-regulation
Implement suggested strategies as they relate to your life
By the end of this short session, you should be able to:
Identify the 6 components of academic self-regulation
Apply suggested strategies as they relate to your life
Formulate personal self-regulation goals

3. What steps can I take to study most effectively?
Academic Self-Regulation: The process of learning how to become a more successful learner by using appropriate strategies to manage motivation, behavior, and learning
So what is this term, academic self regulation?
It is The process of learning how to become a more successful learner by using appropriate strategies to manage motivation, behavior, and learning
In short- how do we learn academic material in a productive way
The phrase “appropriate strategies” is very important ,because as a student you already know about so many academic strategies. Academic self-regulation is less about having to learn new strategies, and more about using the right combination of strategies that you probably already have in your tool belt.
(Dembo & Seli, 2016)

4. 6 Components of Self-Regulation
Motivation (Why do we learn?)
Methods of Learning (How do we learn)
Use of Time (When do we learn?)
Adjusting your physical environment (Where do we learn?)
Adjusting your social environment (With whom do we learn?)
Monitoring Performance (What did we learn?)
To give a quick breakdown of academic self-regulation, remember that there are 6 necessary components to learn new material effectively. Students for the most part, do a handful of these things very well. Academic Self-regulation states, however, that all 6 components are needed to really learn difficult academic material. We will break down each of the 6 components, but here is a brief overview of each of them.
The first component is motivation, or finding out why you want to learn the material.
Next, managing different methods of learning, or how you learn is important. This goes back to the earlier discussion of using “appropriate strategies” for different academic tasks.
The third component is use of time, or thinking about when you do your best learning.
Next, it is important to consider adjusting your physical environment by thinking bout where you do your best learning.
Fifth on our list is adjusting your social environment. This requires that you consider with whom you do your best learning.
And finally, while all 6 components are needed, the final one, Monitoring your performance, is the most important, because it requires you to think critically about your studying at multiple stages of the process to assess whether or not you are meeting your study goals. Because of this, monitoring your performance goes hand and hand with each of the other components.
(Dembo & Seli, 2016)

5. Motivation You may have experienced: Solutions:
”This class is boring!”
“This class has nothing to do with what I want to do after college.”
“This semester is going by so slowly. I just want to turn my brain off.”
Solutions:
Identify the ways in which you are being graded for the class.
Think of how good grades in courses you don’t like will improve GPA’s or bring you closer to graduating.
Set up small goals! Treat yourself!
So now that we have briefly covered each of the components, lets break them down a little bit. Remember as we go through each of these slides that you might be doing a handful of these strategies already, but the challenge is to manage all six categories of academic self regulation in order to truly maximize your learning,
First is Managing your motivation. Successful students learn to find motivation and persist during challenging academic tasks.
Lets look at some common phrases that might point to a lack of motivation. Have you ever found yourself thinking:
”This class is boring!”
“This class has nothing to do with what I want to do after college.”
“This semester is going by so slowly. I just want to turn my brain off.”
These questions may be an indication that there is a lack of motivation for a course. When this happens, it can be hard to sit down and study for a boring class, or to do a big assignment when that motivation is not there. And these classes happen all the time. Students take a class that doesn’t really align with their interests, or a personality difference with the professor makes things feel super underwhelming at times. But successful students while rise above this lacking motivation by creating their own motivators to keep them interested throughout the semester.
Some solutions could be:
Identify the ways in which you are being graded for the class. (sometimes focusing on what content will be needed to do well in the class can make things seem less borin)
Think of how good grades in courses you don’t like will improve GPA’s or bring you closer to graduating. (This is a great technique, for it is inevitable that you will take classes that you do not automatically fall in love with, but viewing these classes not as a brick wall, but as a stepping stone to one of your other goals can sometimes make all the difference.)
Set up small goals! Treat yourself! (When in doubt, if the motivation is still lacking, be active in setting up rewards for yourself. This could be something like “I will go to the beach with my friends once I finish reading this chapter” or “I will go to the store to get my favorite snack after I finish this assignment” . Over time, these small incentives can make all the difference in a long semester.
______
What are some positive things that will happen if I complete this task?
How will passing this class with a good grade help me in my long academic goals?
How can I treat myself for doing this task that I do not want to do?
What is my ”self-talk” telling me?
When all else fails… treat yourself!

6. Methods of Learning You may have experienced :
“I re-read the chapter and my notes three times before the test, and I still did not get the grade that I wanted.”
“In high school, my study methods worked every time, but in college it seems hit and miss.”
Solutions:
Think of using study methods that might have worked for you in the past.
Talk to peers, TA’s and professors to expand your knowledge of different study methods.
Methods of learning describes what techniques we are using to study. This category is best thought of like a tool box. In life there are many useful tools, but not all of them are appropriate for every job. That’s exactly how methods of learning work in academics. Students must adapt in order to use appropriate learning strategies.
For example, you might not benefit from using flash cards while writing a college essay, but that does not mean flash cards would never be useful in college. Methods of learning is a reminder to use appropriate strategies.
Have you ever thought to yourself:
“I re-read the chapter and my notes three times before the test, and I still did not get the grade that I wanted.”
“In high school, my study methods worked every time, but in college it seems hit and miss.”
These are signs that methods of learning may need to be rethought.
So when you are working on assignment or you are trying to study for large exams, ask yourself:
What is the best way to learn this material?
What tools do I have to study?
Outlines? Organizational Charts? Flashcards?
Perhaps new tools are needed in your tool box, or you need to dust of a tool you haven’t used in a while. Or it may be time to talk to your friends, TA’s, or professors about learning new tools to study.

7. Use of Time You may have experienced : Solutions:
“I know how to make a schedule, but during the week I just get behind and stop looking at it.”
“Sometimes it feels like there are not enough hours in a day to get everything done.”
“Everyone else seems to be having so much fun, and I am just overwhelmed with how much I have to get done that I can’t even think about doing things.”
Solutions:
Take notes on how long it takes you to do tasks.
Create realistic schedules that take into account eating, naps, and down time.
Schedule “self-care”.
Use of time is very important. many college students have trouble managing time, simply because they have so many things on their plate. With school, jobs, extracurricular commitments, families, and social lives, it is often hard to balance schedules and stay on top of to do lists. However, students with time management skills tend to have a higher GPA’s.
Have you ever experienced thoughts like:
“I know how to make a schedule, but during the week I just get behind and stop looking at it.”
“Sometimes it feels like there are not enough hours in a day to get everything done.”
“Everyone else seems to be having so much fun, and I am just overwhelmed with how much I have to get done that I can’t even think about doing things.”
These thoughts are very common among students. Often times the problem lies with students being able to estimate how much time it will take them to do a task. Simply setting aside the same amount of time every week to work on school is not always enough. Sometimes it will be necessary to think about what needs to be done and also think aboout how much time will be needed to complete the task. This allows students to be more realistic with their time so that they do not get frustrated by falling behind on an unrealistic schedule.
And finally, it can be very frustrating when you are working hard and you see people around you having fun and not focusing on school. Successful students need to know how to practice “self-care” or doing activities that you enjoy and that can be fun or relaxing. Work self-care into your schedule so that you stay motivated and have time to unwind.
Ask yourself:
What commitments do you have each week?
How many hours of sleep do you want to have each day?
How long does it take you to read a chapter for your class?
What time of day am I most likely to stay focused?

8. Adjusting your Physical Environment
You may have experienced :
“People say I should be studying in the library, but sometimes its hard to focus there.”
“I like working at my place, but sometimes it is easier to get distracted there.”
“I end up doing a lot of my studying and reading while lying in bed.”
Solutions:
Experiment with different study locations until you have two or three that work for you.
Take the comforts of home with you to study.
Avoid working in your bed!
Many students have a good understanding of what it means to adjust their physical environment. Successful students know that effective learning requires an appropriate physical environment.
Still, sometimes people say things like:
“People say I should be studying in the library, but sometimes its hard to focus there.”
“I like working at my place, but sometimes it is easier to get distracted there.”
“I end up doing a lot of my studying and reading while lying in bed.”
Ask yourself:
What places are you able to focus best?
What sounds, sights or smells are distracting while studying?
What location will allow me to study as long as I need? Will you have Access to snacks, water, or a restroom?
Experiment with different study locations until you have two or three that work for you.
Take the comforts of home with you to study. Wear comfortable clothing when you go out to study. Bring your favorite snacks so that you are not distracted by hunger.
and finally, Avoid working in your bed! This is not a great place to learn because it is so easy to fall asleep, end up watching tv, or clicking around on the internet for hours at a time.

9. Adjusting your Social Environment
You may have experienced :
“I get distracted when I am trying to study and friends pass through.”
“Sometimes I lose track of time when I am on social media when I should be doing work.”
“Since I know I get distracted, I have made it a rule to only study when I am completely alone.”
Solutions:
Study in spaces with minimal social distractions and keep electronics locked!
Studying in small groups can be productive if planned in advance!
Think about who can help you learn the material more effectively and study with them!
While adjusting your physical environment may be a task you are used to, many college students miss the mark when it comes to adjusting their social environments.
Do you relate to any of these statements?
“I get distracted when I am trying to study and friends pass through.”
“Sometimes I lose track of time when I am on social media when I should be doing work.”
“Since I know I get distracted, I have made it a rule to only study when I am completely alone.”
If any of these statements relate to your experience in college, you might want to think about ways that social environment can either impair or improve the learning process.
Being surrounded by friends can be a huge distraction that limits learning, but that does not mean that studying alone is the best way to learn information. While it is important to study in spaces with minimal distractions, including electronic distractions, sometimes studying in small groups can be productive. This is best done when each member of the group is prepared and material is covered in a way that makes participants think about the material in an interactive way. These proactive study groups can be great tools to learning material, and it is not just friends of classmates who can help, often TA’s and professors can be useful during the studying process. Studying in office hours so that you have someone to ask questions when you get stuck can be a great way to stay focused and productive!
So effective studying does not always mean studying in a quit room, excluded from the world. Again, it all goes back to finding appropriate environments for the task at hand.

10. Monitor your Performance
You may have experienced :
”I have done well in some of my past classes, but this semester I am lost.”
”When I try a new strategy and it doesn’t work, I usually end up going back to my old study habits.”
“I feel like each semester, I am just trying to survive 17 weeks.”
Solutions:
Check in with yourself before, during, and after preparing for big exams.
Keep in mind that some strategies will not always work, but make a mental note of things that do work for you.
Acknowledge that each semester, your tool box is growing bigger and more efficient.
Monitoring performance is the final, and most important component because it pairs with each of the ones that comes before it. It is important to check in with yourself before, during, and after learning to see what can be improved.
Have you experienced any of these problems?
”I have done well in some of my past classes, but this semester I have no idea what I am doing.”
”When I try a new strategy and it doesn’t work, I usually end up going back to my old study habits.”
“I feel like each semester, I am just trying to survive 17 weeks.”
These all point to trouble monitoring performance. It is important to Check in with yourself before, during, and after preparing for big assignments or exams.
Keep in mind that some strategies will not always work, but make a mental note of things that do work for you.
Acknowledge that each semester, your tool box is growing bigger and more efficient.
Ask yourself:
Before I start looking at this assignment, what have I done in the past that has worked well?
In the middle of my study plan, what have I accomplished so far? What else needs to be accomplished?
After getting a grade back from a large assignment, think back to the process that you used to get you to this grade. What worked? What would you have done differently?
By montiroing performance, you are never starting over as a student. Even when you get new assignments or start a brand new semester, monitoring performance allows you to continually grow as a student and learn to be a more and more productive learner.

11. Increasing your Self- Regulation
All 6 areas of self—regulation are needed for efficient learning
It is important to reflect and think of which strategies are appropriate for each assignment or project
Monitoring your goals and progress is needed to get started!
So lets recap:
All 6 areas of self—regulation that we covered are needed for efficient learning
It is important to reflect and think of which strategies are appropriate for each assignment or project.
Monitoring your goals and progress is needed to get started!
If you think you are struggling with academic self regulation, start small and begin monitoring your performance to find where you might be able to improve. And if you feel like you are still not seeing results, come visit the Kortshack Center, and one of our academic coaches would be happy to disuss more personalized strategies that might help you get to where you want to be!

12. References
Dembo, M., Seli, H. (2016). Motivation and Learning Strategies for College Success: A Focus on Self-Regulated Learning. New York: Routledge.
Thank you for clicking the link! Hope you learned a little bit about how to become a more self-regulated learner!